Draft-gear.



Patented May'26, 19.14

DRAFT GEAR.

. T. H. SYMINGTON APPLICATION' FIYLED MAR. 4, 1912.A

` WITNESSES 722%; ,7

I the shock-absorbing means.

UTED sTATns PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS HARRISON SYMINGTON, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

DRAFT-GEAR.

names.

Specification of Letters E'atent.

Patented May 26, i914.

Application led March 4, 1912. Serial No. 681,528..

To all whom t may conce/rn Be it known that I, THOMAS H. SYMING- TON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at the city of Baltimore, State In the preferred forni of draw-bar is .fastened to the yoke by means of a front key, and abutments on the sills serve to limit the-motion of the `front key. A rear key, seated in elongated slots in the sills` and corresponding slots in the yoke,

' serves as a front stop forthe spring or friction gear. At the rear the spring bears against the yoke or a Afollower thereon, and as a rear stop there is a fixed abutment on the frame of the car which serves `to arresty the rearward movement of therear follower or yoke.

Another feature of my invention relates to an improved friction barrel and yoke guide inclosing the shock absorbing member. This is inthe .form of two or more straps or-bands extending from one sill or draft beam to the other above and below the yoke. These bands have horizontal portions which serve as a yoke guide, and between tlie arms of the yoke the upper bands are bowed upward while the lowerbands are bowed downward, forming a spring or friction casing composed of the concave surfaces 'lof the bands and the inner surfaces of' the 'arms of the yoke.

In the.' accompanying drawings I have illustrated a draft gear embodyiirig my invention in its preferred form. tion with the draft gear I have shown so much ef the frame of a car as is-neeessary to the illustration of the operation 'of my invention.`

Figure 1 is a view half in plan andhalf in horizontal cross-section on the line 1, 1 of Figs. 2 `and 3. Fig. 2 is a vertical section lon ,the line 2, 2 of Eig. 1. Fig. 3 is a transmy invention the In connec-A verse vertical section,'one half being taken on the line 3, 3 looking in the direction of the arrows, the other half being taken on the line 3, 3, also looking in the direction of the arrows thereon. Fig. l is a fragmentary longitudinal section showing a slightly different construction.

In'connection with the draft gear I have shown draft-beamsor sills 1 and -front sills 2.'Y The sills are'provided with a pair of alined, elongated slots 3 to receivea front key 4, and asecond pair of alined elongated slots 5 in which is seated a rear key 6, the' front and rear ends of the slots are herein referred to as abutments. A yoke 7 is in the space between the sills. .4 The arms of the yoke are provided with twopairs of alined,

elongated slots 2S,k 8 and 9, 9 corresponding to the slots 3, 3 and 5, 5 in thedraft beams,

It will be noted that the forward 'slots 3' in; the draft`beains exceed in length. the rear slots `5. length slightlyrin excess of'that of the' rear slots inv theI draft beams. 10 is provided wvitha slot `11 rofrsize to fit The lslots in the yoke are of aA The draw-bar I the front keyY 4, and the latter passes throughthe front slots 8 \of theyroke'and through the f I draw-bar, being seated `in the\front slots of the-sills as describedL The'rear key I6, which is described as seated 4in the rear slots 5 of the draft timbersgs, passes through the rear slots 9 of the yoke andlcarries tle front follower 12 which is slotted at 13 lto receive and fit the key. Thev rear end of the'draw- Lbar bears "against the front of the follower,

and, as shown, the latter isv provided with a tongue or extension 14 fitting acorreponding socket 15 in the end of the drawar! Y. ,y Secured to the' sills or" draft timbers, eX-

tendingfrom one to the other in the rea-r.

of the yoke, -is a rigidmemberl which forms the rear stop for the draft gear. This member is provided with'a stop surface 17 against which the rear face 18 of the yoke bears when the gear isin normal position and strikes during the act of bufting. The rear follower 19, as shown, is in theform-of a flat rectangular block slot-ted at its edges at 20 to receive the yoke. This Vfollower bears against the rear 'arm 7 of the yoke'- which, as described, in normalposition and A;

in buhng, preferably bears-against the'rear abutment 16. Within the yoke between the V.opposed surfaces 21 211161,22 of the front and rear followers, respectively, is a shock ab. i

sorbing member 23. This may be in the -form of a spring or any suitable friction gear, and is indicated in a conventional manner. This gear is supported and held in position by means of bands or plates lwhich inclose the yoke above and below, forming a friction or spring po'cket, and at the same time serving as a guide for the arms ofthe yoke. Thesestraps or bands 24 and 25 extend transversely and are secured at their ends to the sills'. Adjacentthe sills there is a horizontal portion or bearing 26fon each band. `These ho-rizontal surfaces or bear'- 'ings engage the top and bottom faces of the yoke arms and serve as a yoke guide. Be?

rearwardly extending arms 29 and 30 having horizontal guiding surfaces 31A and 32. The follower arms31 and 32 inclose the rear arm of the yoke and the rear abutment or stop member 16, and engage corresponding upper and lower horizontal guiding surfaces 33 and 34 on the member 16. The follower thus mounted serves as a guide and support `for the yoke.

The operation of the gear will be kclearly apparent from the description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings'. The gear is shown in normal position, that is, the position which it would vtake when subjected to no stress, In drawing, the stress is transmitted from the draw-bar to the front key 4, henceto the yoke by which it is applied to the rear follower.v The rear follower compresses the springor friction gear and transmits the stress to the front follower which is mounted on the rear key 6, the lat-ter serving as a forward abutment. It will be noted that in normal position this key rests againstthe front surfaces of the slots 5 in the draft beams. Asdrawing is continued and the gear is compressed, the front key moves forward toward the front ends of the slots 3 inthe draft beamss and under eXtreme stress both keys bear against the front ends of these slots and the stress is applied direct tothe sills at four points, and if ,any portion of the gear fails, the front key forms a rigid connection between the draw-bar and sills. This prevents pulling out of the draw-bar. f A

In bufng, stress is flrstapplied by the draw-bar to the front follower 12 'which transmits stress through the resilient gear to the rear follower 19 and through the reararm 7 of the yoke to the fixed abutment 16. Under eXtreme bufling stress, the rear key moves back and engages therear ends ofthe' slots 5,-'and the front key 4 moves to its eX- treme rear position and engages the rear` ends of the slots 3, so that stress is applied to the sills direct from the draw-bar at the four bearing points of the keys and by way of the resilient gear through the rear arm of the-yoke to the rear abutment 16. It "will be'noted that the slots in the vyoke which receive the keys are so placed and are of such extent that-compression is never applied to the arms of the yoke.

' I have thus described in minute detail a single embodiment of my in ention in 'order that its nature and operation may be clearly understood.'l However, the specific terms herein are used in their descriptive rather than in their limiting sense, and the scope of the invention is defined in the claims:

I claim- 1'. In a. draft gear, a draw-bar, draft beams, followers, a horizontal yoke connecting the -rear follower to the draw-bar, a compressible member betweenthe followers, and means for guiding' the yoke and inclosing the compressible member consisting of a strapseoured at its ends to the draft beams 'and deected upwardly between the beams,

and a similar strap deflected downwardly between the beams and secured at each end to the beams, the straps having shoulders, one ateachside of the deflected portion, the shoulders forming upper and lower guides for the yoke. Y 2. In a draft gear, `-a draw-bar, draft beams, stops, a horizontal yoke, a compressible member within the yoke between "the stops, and a support and guide for the compressible member and yoke consisting of a strap deeoted downwardly between the beams to inolose .the compressible member and securedA at each end to the beams, and

having at each side of the deflected portionY a shoulder to engagethe corresponding arm of the yoke andact as a guide and support y for the same. v

3. In a draft gear in combination, a horizontalyoke, a draw-bar, keyed to the yoke and having a limited sliding engagement relatively thereto, a frontstop in the form of a key passing through the yoke and sills and having play in both, a rear stop extending from onesill tothe other and secured to the sills, the rear armof the yoke having a bearing against the rear stop during buihng, a follower within the yoke, a resilient member compressed between the' front stop and the follower, the latter bearing against the rear arm of the yoke which transmits pressure from the follower to the rear stop, the follower having horizontalI arms above and below. the yoke which engage bearing suries i iso faces en the-tepandfhottom `of the rear stop mediately in the rear of the rear slot andv well forward of the rear abutment, the yoke having' slots corresponding to those in the cheek plates, a slotted draw-bar, a key seated in the slot engaging theforwardslots in the sills and yoke to transmit drawing stresses to theyoke, -thedrawbar bein free vto move rearwardly relatively to the oke in'buing, zo'

the second key seated in the rear slots in the sills and-yoke so that'theV yoke is free to move relatively to itfin drawing, the rear key serving yas a front stop an having aA front follower supported thereon, means for 25 supporting .the rear end of the yoke independently of the keys, a rear follower engaging the rear arm of the yoke, and a resilient member between the followers.

Signed at Baltimore, Maryland this 27th 30 day of February 1912. THOMS `HARRISON SYMINGTON.

Witnesses:

HY H; DINNEEN, EDWIN J. MOHR. 

